14.
Sorry. Lots of stuff to do. Especially school. -.-; This chapter's a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to place the cliffhanger where I did. If that made any sense. Which it didn't.
Whatever.
Without any further delay, here it is.
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Draco started as he heard what sounded like a cat sneezing. He turned to see Fawkes once again chirping sharply as he sat in a pile of feathers, a layer of red down covering his body. He sighed, and turned back in the arm chair in Dumbledore's office. He ran a shaking hand through his hair, and willed it to still.
"So, Mr. Malfoy, I understand that you simply left her there?"
"Yes. Not much I could do. Damn it." He said sighing, holding his head in his hands.
"So the day you spent visiting your Manor, as you told me originally you were going to do…."
"- Did not go well." He finished. "Mother's dementia is getting worse day by day. She still thinks father is alive, of course. Somehow though, she's able to understand my part in the whole mess. And she hates me for it. And she's still capable of magic, so the house was almost in ruins by the time I left"
"I understand. However, I am also interested in the result of your week long disappearance after that. We have all been concerned. This case has not been able to go forward without you. And it appears that you have been carousing with the centaurs in the woods for a good week." Dumbledore stated this simply, but his eyes held a questioning glance. Silence filled the room.
"Mr. Malfoy. I take that indeed you did spent the week in the Forbidden Forest."
"Yes." He answered gruffly. "I –I couldn't help it. I h-h-had to." He said slurring his words, as his mind remembered the days he had allowed his berserker side to take over, and simply run wild. He had only meant to explore the woods after a tour of the wing he was sponsoring to build at Hogwarts, see how Grawp was doing perhaps, when he had felt his blood pressure rise…
He had awoken what felt like a few seconds later, curled up on a rock, next to a slumbering group of centaurs and maenads. He had crept off, wondering exactly how long he had run wild. Inside, he knew that Grawp was just an excuse for the real wild inclination that had overtaken his thoughts. He wasn't sure what had triggered in these past few weeks. But he now knew that Hermione Granger had a large part to do with it.
"I don't think I should continue with this. Granger's got enough expertise. She can just use a reconnaissance t-t-t-team and m-m-maybe-"suddenly he felt a soothing warmness flow over his body, and his muscles unclenched. He felt his eyes focus and the foggy haze in his mind lifted.
He stared at Dumbledore who opened his eyes from performing the spell, and felt a flood of shame overwhelm him. It was useless. In the past three weeks, a control he had been able to maintain for ten whole years was now gone. He had let the wild side control him instead of the other way around, and Dumbledore had had to perform a spell to keep him focused.
"Mr. Malfoy, I asked you before if you wanted to continue. You gave me your full support. And I as an administrator and as Minister of Magic feel that you are still the best person for the job-"he held up a hand to stop Draco from interrupting. "I think we can find a way to get you back in shape. However, as Minister it is my duty –"
"-No!"
"It is my duty," Dumbledore continued despite Draco's protest "that you spend a few days in rehabilitation at St. Mungo's. You will be transported there from your home this evening." He continued, writing down the order, and the parchment rolled up and shot through the air to deliver itself.
"The wedding is not for another two weeks. We cannot destroy this part of your nature. But we can help you in the struggle to control it, Draco." Dumbledore said quietly.
Draco angrily pushed himself out of the chair, and angrily stalked down the hall ignoring the stares at appearance, his shirt and chest mauled. When he reached the entrance to the Ministry, he apparated back to his own luxurious apartment over looking Diagon Alley.
He immediately reached for the large decanter of Fire Whiskey and poured himself a generous glass of the amber liquid, and took a deep swig. A quick look around the apartment made him wince. The living room was a mess, from last week when he had gone through another fit before leaving for his visit. The table lamp had been smashed against the wall, and the sofa cushion ripped to shreds. As the Whiskey fizzed in his stomach, a cold sweat break out and he felt Dumbledore's healing spell slip. He slumped on the ravaged sofa, and waited for the clock to strike 4, so that the hospital bus would come and get him.
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Hermione dabbed the washcloth at her neck, but it was useless. She sighed as she ran the cloth under the cold running water and wondered what she would do about the dark imprints around her throat. She had healed the worst of the bruises, but there were still some dark marks on the left base of her throat and neck, and they would have to heal on their own.
She padded into the kitchen, and sipped some of her tea as she got ready to head back to her work after her month long leave. Though devoted to teaching others her own skill, she was apprehensive of going back to the Psychiatric & Other Mental Maladies Ward after such a long time. The other medi wizards and nurses never really liked her because of her aloofness and tartness when it came to her work demeanor. She did not stand for any laziness of slack amongst her students, and thus had earned the moniker of "Danger Granger" for being harsh on students who took the Psych ward as an "easy" area to work in. When would people learn that those who were in such a place were not there by choice, and needed just as much care as anyone else?
Not to say that she didn't have her kind side, but the majority of her fellow workers were not dedicated to their work as she was and was of course frustrated. Still, there was always Parvati Patel in the Magical Maladies Ward, and Neville sometimes came by to hand her briefs and give her a friendly visit (though she had the feeling that it was more for a visit to see the hottest nurse in the Magical Maladies Ward).
She abruptly dropped her teacup with a smash.
Her heart was racing. She could have sworn that she saw the reflection of...no it couldn't be. She could have sworn Miguel's face was reflected in the stove window a moment ago….
She stepped closer to the stove, and gave a little laugh at the state of her own sanity.
"I'll have to check myself in to the ward at this rate." She whispered to herself as she cleaned off the mess.
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"Um, Dr.Granger, Dylan McMantish says he thinks he's starting to hallucinate again. But the nurse can't find anything wrong with his doses." A nervous student asked her, handing her the patient's chart. She quickly scanned it, and instructed the grateful student to increase the dragon's heart ivy powder.
The hospital was usually chaotic with the most bizarre maladies crowding the ER, but in her ward, the halls were a deathly quiet. The walls were painted a soothing taupe color, and no paintings or other ornaments on the walls to distract the more unbalances patients.
She picked up her charts for the day, and headed to the first room where she checked on a patient who had fallen of her broom in the middle of a gale last summer, and hadn't quite mentally recovered since.
"Now, Letita. How are the dreams?" she asked in cheerful voice.
"A little better. But…I keep thinking I'm seeing him."
"Your husband?" Hermione asked quietly. Letita Turner and her husband had gone out for an anniversary celebration when a severe storm abruptly appeared as they were flying home. Letita had landed on a shipment of vegetables in the back of a muggle farmer's lorry. Her husband had not been as nearly as lucky, falling to his death along the rocks of the nearby lake.
"Well, you aren't nearly in a bad shape as you were when you came in. I'm sure that you can be realeased within a week. But you must promise to attend the therapy sessions I'm going to assign you." She said sternly, but with some gentleness. Letita had a young three year old son at home, who was surely missing her.
"Oh…thank you! Thank you! I…I'll go, just... oh dearie, you don't know how much you've helped me." she said, and to Hermione's embarrassment, started crying with relief.
"Oh, Dr. Granger, you've helped me so much. If you have someone you love, you make sure you savor every moment. You never know if you'll lose him." She said ruefully shaking her head. Hermione patted her on the back, and left the room. Once she reached the hallway, she collapsed on a sofa, and felt a few tears creep down her cheek and into the hollow of her throat.
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Draco watched from his window. Somehow, in the drug induced haze, he knew he wanted to hold her, and not make her cry anymore. He traced one long finger on the window around her face, and suddenly he felt his body jerked back.
He was spun around, and he faced the figure of Ferenz stood in front of him, holding him by the shoulder.
"Draco. Now. You should change now."
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A.N.- Well, as usual, review and tell me what you like/liked. It helps me.
Teaser- Hermione has to help Draco…or it could be the end…